Somasundaram Selvanayagam (28 May 1932 – 23 May 1979) was a

Ceylon Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province an ...

geographer, academic and head of the Department of Geography at the

University of Jaffna The University of Jaffna (, ''Yāpanaya Wiśwawidyālaya''; ; abbreviated UoJ) is a public university in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Established in 1974 as the sixth campus of the University of Sri Lanka, it became an independent, autonomous university in 1 ...

Early life

Selvanayagam was born on 28 May 1932. He was educated at

Jaffna Hindu College Jaffna Hindu College (; ; abbreviated as JHC) is a National school (Sri Lanka), national school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1887 by a group of Hinduism in Sri Lanka, Hindu people who wanted an English language alternative to the Christi ...

and

Zahira College, Colombo Zahira College (commonly known as Zahira) (, ) is an Islamic school in Maradana, Colombo, Sri Lanka, founded in 1892 as Al Madrasathul Zahira by Islamic lawyer and educationalist, M. C. Siddi Lebbe, with the patronage of Ahmed Orabi, Ahmed Orab ...

. He joined the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univ ...

, Peradeniya in 1953, graduating in 1957 with BA honours degree in geography.

Career

After graduating Selvanayagam worked for a while at the Official Languages Department. He then joined the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya as an assistant lecturer in 1951. He joined the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(LSE) in October 1961 for postgraduate studies, graduating with a MA degree. He returned to the LSE in 1970 to continue his research, receiving a

Phd A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in August 1971. Selvanayagam joined the

Ahmadu Bello University The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is a public research university located in Zaria, Nigeria, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was opened in 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria. The university has four colleges, three schools, 18 faculties, ...

's Department of Geography in 1974 as a senior lecturer. He left Ahmadu Bello in August 1977 after being appointed head of the Department of Geography at the

University of Sri Lanka The University of Sri Lanka (, ) was the public university system of Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1978. The university system was dissolved in 1978 and its six campuses turned into independent universities: the University of Peradeniya, the University o ...

(Jaffna campus). Selvanayagam was a fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. He died on 23 May 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selvanayagam, S. 1932 births 1979 deaths Academic staff of the University of Ceylon Academic staff of the University of Jaffna Academic staff of the University of Sri Lanka Academic staff of Ahmadu Bello University Alumni of Jaffna Hindu College Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of the University of Ceylon Alumni of Zahira College, Colombo Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Sri Lankan academics Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan geographers